Tank type suction cleaner



May 19, 1953 L L MlLLER ETAL 2,639,002

TANK TYPE SUCTION CLEANER Filed March 25, 1946 v 3 Shee'ts-Sheet l INVENToRs L Efl'e' L... /77 2'ffE::1'1 :Hau-'afd j., :ZPL/c1512 May'19, 1953 L MILLER ETAL TANK TYPE sUcTIoN CLEANER 3 SheetsvSh-eet 2 Filed March 25, 1946 E :P mrd L mm1/ mf j @5m Sam .ml/ E j May 19 1953 l.. l.. MILLER Erm. 2,639,002 TANK TYPE suCTIoN CLEANER Filed March 25, 194e s sheets-sheet s j; C/h

- INVENTORS Harafc/ 5 L den Patented May 19, 1953 TANK TYPE SUCTION CLEANER Leslie L. Miller, Inglewood, and Harold S. Ryden, Redondo Beach, Calif., assignors to Interstate Aircraft and Engineering Corp., El Segundo, Calif., a corporation vof California Application March Z5, 1946, Serial No. 656,816

4 claim. 1

. Our invention relates to the art of vacuum .y cleaners, having .more particularly to do with vacuum cleaners of the enclosed bag type where- .in the bag, blower or suction unit, and vpower elements are enclosed within a body or housing which facilitates attachment of the intake nozzle .on the suction end and the outlet nozzle on the .blower end by means of a flexible conduit.

`It is an object of our invention to provide, in

`a vacuum cleaner of this type, novel means for relatively mounting the bag, motor orblower or .suction elements in such novel manner as to provide an extremely compact unit, to further -facilitate cleaning and to render the parts freely Yaccessible for easy repair or replacement.

L Another object of the invention is to provide in such a vacuum cleaner a novel and highly efficient motor and blower mounting which dampens noise created in operation and is conducive to longer life and service.

A further object is the provision in such a ncleaner of an improved handle means for manlually moving the cleaner about and which handle also serves as a bumper to arrest swinging movement of the lid of the bag-containing portion of -the casing in a manner to prevent marring of the contacting surfaces. y

-Our invention also has as an object the pro- 'visionof improved bag mounting means.

A further object is the provision in such a vacuum cleaner of novel means for latching the cover lid to the housing.

A still further object is to provide a novel and improved housing.

`The invention possesses still further objects land corresponding advantages which will become apparent from the following description of one presently preferred embodiment thereof, for which purpose we shall refer to the Aaccompany-ing drawings, in which:

` Fig. 1 is a top plan view;

fFig. 2 is a rear end view;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary bottom plan view;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Fig. l;

' Fig. 5 is a cross section taken on line Fig. 4; and y Fig. 6 is a cross sectionv taken on line 6--6 of Fig. 4.

" vWe wish it understood, however, that, in the broader aspects of the invention, it is not intended. to be confined to the precise details of "structure and arrangement now to be described .except insofar as may be indicated by the ap- --pendedvclairns- Referring now to the drawings, we denote generally by the numeral 5 a housing or casing which. preferably, is cast of aluminum or a suitable aluminum alloy, having a flat bottom wall 'I presenting a pair of transversely spacednintegral skids 9 and a transversely spacedpair of downwardly opening wheel wells l l. In cross section the remainder of the housing has a somewhat contoured section being larger in diameter at its forward (right hand) portion than at its rear portion. Wheels l5 are mounted, one in each well, each upon a spindle or axle i6 which is headed at one end as shown at Il and projects inwardly through both walls and extending beyond the inner well wall to facilitate insertion of a cotter pin I9 through an opening in the spindle to secure the spindle against axial movement.y

The housing has, at its top, handle mounting members 20, 22 each consisting of a transversely spaced pair of upright walls. Cross pins 24, 25 extend through openings in each respective pair of walls to provide pivotal mountings for the ends of the handle element 3U to be described. The handle element, shown in longitudinal section in Fig. 4, has an elongated transverse slot 3l at one end, through which pin 24 extends,

and a round opening 32 at its other end through which pin 25 extends. The handle has a reinforcement core portion 33 made of iiat spring metal bent at one end to outline elongated slot 3| and bent at its opposite end to outline an opening 32, the core being molded or encased in a soft rubber sheathing 34. The slot 3l enables axial movement of the handle about pin 24 so ,that when not in use the handle is retracted to be iiush with the top surface of the body, but

'may be bowed outwardly for grasping.

The housing or body has a swingable cover cap 40 Whose top has parallel bifurcations 4I, between which fit the walls 22 and which have aligned transverse openings through which pass the pin 25, so that the cover cap is pivotally .mounted on the housing by means of the same pin that pivotally mounts one end of the handle. When the cover lid is swung open or to the left lin Fig. 1, the bifurcations swing over the Walls 22 and the soft handle engages the surface 45 between the bifurcations 4I to provide a soft bumper for the cover lid.

The cover'lid 40 has an angularly disposed .conduit'receiving opening 45 providedv with two pins 41 extending inwardly from opposite walls of the opening to engage in a cam-like slot provided in an end collar 48a of a exible conduit 48 leading to a nozzle element not shown. The lid 40 has at its rear portion a pair of parallel spaced ears 49 carrying a cross pin 50 to be engaged by the latch element 55 to be described.

Surrounding' the opening 5'? in the housing, which opening is covered by the lid 40, there is an annular ange 60 cast integral with the housing, upon which rests the annular rubber covered rim l|52 of a fabric bag 05 which acts as a lter as well as a collector for the dust, etc., drawnl into the housing through the lid opening 46.. This rim of the bag is compressed between the annular bottom surface 63A ofy the cover lid and said flange to provide an airtight seal.

In the left-hand end of the housing` there is an inwardly disposed annular boss 'i0 having an annular flange li and providing an, annular shoulder 12.

The motor-blower or` suction unit to be described, generally denoted i', is of conventional construction, no claim being made to it here per se. The forward portion or suction endof said `unit is the right-hand end portion carrying the driven impellers, the rear or blower end portion carrying the motor. from the boss 'i0 by means of screws lil, of which We preferably use three, the screws entering through a retaining plate ring il and being threaded at their ends in threaded opening '|53 in the boss. An annular rubber gasket 'la is interposed between the rear end of the casing 85 of the unit 'l5 andthe flange il, anda rubber gasket 801s interposed between the ring 'iand theforward end of the casing so that said unit is fioatingly mounted and substantially all ofi its vibrations dampened.

Theunit '15. generally consists of housing shell 85 housing the motor M on whose drivenk shaft 8.7. isv carried the blowers or impellers d0, the air being.- induced in by the.. impellers following the pathy indicated by arrows in Eig. 4, passing out of'y the. unit through openings i2 and thence throughopening l-I. Any suitable motor-blower unit may be substituted` forv that just described since. no claim is here made. tothe motor-blower unit.Y perl se.

Aslwill be observed from the drawing, the diameter of the motor blower unit is. such. that it may be=readily inserted into the. casing through the` opening l.l and after. it. has been introduced into the casing it may be positioned against the seataiorded by thebcss. 10. which faces toward the. lter. bag 65 andV secured. thereto by means offthescrews 14. This enablestheiorward portion of the casing to be made entirely of one f piece except `for the. cover it, or, if fabricated, the casing may be made up of parts. that. are permanently associated together. Removal of the motor blower unit forl purposes of inspection or repair is consequently also afforded by the ability ofthe motor blower unit; to be withdrawn through the opening 51.

endcap lhhasa flanged tapered innerend lill extendinginto the rearend of the housing and; being secured thereto by three screwsy |03 radially'located and, set in countersunk holes in the-cap, arubber sealing gasket lilbeing interposed'. between the inner end. of the iiange and the annular shoulder 72.. Thecap hasat; its rear end an opening I0 provided'witha cross piny iii. The. collar 48a of a flexible conduit leading to a nozzle, not shown, is adaptedI to nt in eitherv the inlet opening 46.01' the outlet opening l0 and the crosspin i fits in the .cam-like slots. inthecollarin the. same manner asdopins. 651'.'

This unit. is suspended The bottom end portion of the cap is provided with a recess ||5 into which an aperture ||6 opens from the interior of the cap, a conventional electrical connection plug socket |20 being suitably secured in the aperture for the purpose of connecting the device to a source of electrical current. A conventionalelectricaljy switch |25, ofthe type operable by aspring-loaded, footoperated pin |20 is mounted in opening |21 in the end cap. From the connection element |20, one wire. |30, leads to the switch and one wire |3| leads to the motor, and a wire |32 leads from the switch tothemotor.

after-the motor blower unit has been mounted within the casing on the boss 'i0 the wires |3| and |32 leading from the connection element |20 and` switch |.2 5.may be connected thereto prior to the application of the cap |00. When this connection has been made the cap |00 may be applied. If it is necessary at any time to remove and replace.- they motor blower unit, the` cap. |00 may be detached from` the casing. and theiwires i3|` and |32 disconnected from the motor blower unit prior to removal of the motor blower unit from the casing through theopening ET;

We iind that great eiirciency is` obtainedr by the relative'v associationA and mounting of.L the parts. shown; that is, the bag or dust receptacle @'51s disposed upright,v for,A accessibility, and conserves the over-all-length; andthe motor-.blower unit is mountedV about an axis. ofrotation4 at right angles. to the longitudinal axis: of the bag, no partition wall being. presentin the housing between the bag and motor-blower unit, so, that full suction efficiency is10btained; The. motorblower unit is readily accessibleto be removed by simply unscrewingthe screws` 'L4' for which` access may be had, throughA the housing opening,- 5,1.

The latchelementis of the toggletype embodying a channeled;arrxr` drpivotally securedy at one endby'means of across. pinA |,l||V mounted in boss W2, 0n; the housing- A Second channeled arm |44 p ivotallysecured; at one end; to the arm 10, betweenv the ends.- of; thalatter, and4 has at its outer. end` hook, |45.; to; engage over.; the Gross pniarried by ears 4.9..: Thus'wbenltbe arm |40 is swung upwardly frornthe position-` of Fie. 4 the hcokis. disengaged f the pin. 50. but when. tbearm, Macistswunaasamst the. housinei the; position 0f Eis;- 4. the hook; is engaged with the pin. and. the, @s2-.ver lidi is; Securely. fastened down.

We claim-r` 1. In a vacuum cleaner, an, elongated. hollow casing Whose rear-end has an inwarmydifped boss providing. al1-,annular Shoulden a-,neslient gasleet mounted; againstA said shoulder; amotorblower unit: havingl itsY rear end-dispose@ against saidsasket, a retainer ring.; a resilient gasket interposed betweenA said?, ringandI the forward end of said unit, screw, means fengaging saidaring and threadedly mounted; the boss, to; corinne said unit between saidfgasleta the front end of the, casingvpresenting an` inlet, opening@ 2. In a vacuum oleanenan, elpllgatedghollow, horizontally disposed casing, saidV casing having a conduit-receiving inlet opening adjacent, one endand-.terminatirisiat.thelotherend anopening defined by a radially inwardly extendinganmillar. lignee, saidwanee presenting. ammneiiand Outer; shoiilden resilient gasket. mounted against: each. of; Said shoulders, e. rear Cap .fitting againsty the gasket. petitioned; aeainet. Said.. cuter shoulder,y means .securing said capi to-isaid l casing, said cap having an outlet opening.,aslowendxiven suction unit mounted against the gasket positioned against said inner shoulder with its inlet communicating with the interior of said casing, and means connecting said unit and said flange securing said unit to said flange.

3. In a vacuum cleaner, an elongated, hollow, horizontally disposed casing, said casing having a conduit-receiving inlet opening adjacent one end and terminating at the other end in an opening defined by a radially inwardly extending annular flange, a resilient gasket mounted against the inner side of said shoulder, a, power-driven suction unit mounted against the gasket positioned against said inner shoulder with its inlet communicating with the interior of said casing, and means connecting said unit and said flange securing said unit to said ange.

4. A Vacuum member as dened in claim 3 in which the means connecting said unit and said flange comprises an annular retaining plate in 20 abutment with the inner end of said unit and elongated screws mounted in said plate extend- 6 ing axially of said unit and threadedly mounted in said housing in the region of said flange.

LESLIE L. MILLER. HAROLD S. RYDEN.

UNITED STATES PATENTS References Cited in the le of this patent Number Name Date 1,036,365 Stafford Aug. 20, 1912 1,399,165 Spencer Dec. 6, 1921 1,721,459 McLatchie July 16, 1929 2,030,133 Baxter Feb. 11, 1936 2,122,632 Baxter July 5, 1938 2,177,588 Genell Oct. 24J 1939 2,198,568 Yonkers Apr. 23, 1940 2,214,632 Brown Sept. 10, 1940 2,245,953 Anderson et al. June 17, 1941 2,372,944 Forsberg Apr. 3, 1945 2,388,280 Nuffer et al Nov. 6, 1945 2,439,182 Nuier Apr. 6, 1948 

